Vadnais Heights manufacturer VistaTek moving to Stillwater

Custom manufacturer VistaTek is expanding and plans to move this July from Vadnais Heights to an abandoned manufacturing site in Stillwater, one of its co-owners says.

And as part of a deal with the city of Stillwater, VistaTek is required to keep employment levels constant at 35 positions for five years.

VistaTek reached an agreement Friday, Feb. 22, to buy two buildings that formed part of the UFE Inc. manufacturing site, which has been empty for three years, said VistaTek managing director Dan Mishek.

The company is expanding from its present 15,000-square-foot site to one that spans 56,000 square feet, he said.

The expansion will include mold-making and custom manufacturing, plus decoration, assembly and packaging, so it can be a one-stop shop for customers, Mishek said. The company's customers pushed it to expand, requiring increased volume production and not just the prototyping work that was VistaTek's main focus when it was founded, he said.

He declined to disclose the terms of the sale.

"We're excited because we feel it shows a strong commitment to our employees and our customers, and it shows U.S. manufacturing is alive and well," he said.

Work once done overseas in countries like China is returning to the United States, aided by rising overseas labor and transportation costs, Mishek said.

The Stillwater City Council aided the move last week by approving a $250,000 forgivable loan using tax-increment financing. VistaTek is required to employ at least 35 full-time workers at the end of each year for five years to qualify.

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If the number of workers drops below 35, VistaTek will be required to pay a pro-rated portion of that year's $50,000 share of the loan, City Administrator Larry Hansen said. The terms run until Jan. 1, 2019.

Mayor Ken Harycki said he hopes the relocation of VistaTek to Stillwater will herald a rebirth of manufacturing in the St. Croix River Valley.

"We need jobs like these in the valley ... to provide future opportunities to our residents and our children," Harycki said. "These factory jobs aren't your grandfather's factory jobs. You have to be smart to operate these computers; they're high- tech. We're very happy to have them come here."

Mishek, who owns the company with his sister Jennifer Sutherland and brother Allen Mishek, said VistaTek currently has 25 employees with six immediate job openings. He plans to add the required number of employees in the coming months.

Mishek said the forgivable loan will help pay to relocate the company from the Vadnais Heights-White Bear Lake area that has been its home since 1996. That's when Mishek's parents, Jim and Lorinda Mishek, founded VistaTek as a rapid-prototyping manufacturer using the then-new technology of three-dimensional printing.

"It's really exciting, but it's really sad," Dan Mishek said Friday after terms were reached. "We've loved how we've been embraced by Vadnais Heights. We eat at the (area's) restaurants. We use the bank. I'm on the Vadnais Heights Economic Development Board."

But when he couldn't find a facility with enough space for expansion there, he widened his search until he heard about the UFE Inc. site in Stillwater.

The company is buying two of three buildings on Greeley Street formerly occupied by UFE. The third UFE building is being leased by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to oversee construction of the new St. Croix River bridge and improvements to Minnesota 36.

UFE, which was founded in 1953 as United Fabricators and Electronics, moved to Osceola, Wis., in 2009 and was sold in 2011.

VistaTek's move is part of its transformation into more of a traditional manufacturing company. The company sold its 3D printing business in September to In'Tech Industries Inc. of Ramsey and now specializes in mold making and custom injection molding for small and large manufacturing, Mishek said.

Some of VistaTek's customers include regional giants like 3M Co., Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and Toro, Mishek said.

Others are tiny startups like SoundBender, a plastic accessory that plugs into an iPad to amplify the sound. The invention by St. Paul rabbi Moshe Weiss was featured on a recent episode of the TV business reality series "Shark Tank."

"These are not just factory jobs," city administrator Hansen said. "These are highly paid, computer-skilled jobs with salaries in the $70,000 to $75,000 range. Our hope is that they will continue to grow and add even more jobs."